U-19 Asia Cup moves out of India after Pakistan's objection; Malaysia to host 8-team tournament

Courtesy: Twitter

New Delhi: Pakistan registered a moral victory over neighbours India on Sunday after forcing the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to move the U-19 Asia Cup out of Bengaluru to Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had objected to India hosting citing to the political tensions between the two countries. The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) had already written to the government, seeking clearance to host the event as it would include a team from Pakistan.

The decision to shift the venue was taken during ACC's development committee meeting held in Colombo.

"The matter of shifting the tournament to Malaysia was amicably agreed by all participants in the development and executive committees, since no one wanted it marred by security considerations of any member," Najam Sethi, the PCB chairman, told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday.

It's also reported that BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary didn't object to the shifting of venue.

The new development can be read alongside the running feud between the two cricket boards over the resumption of bilateral series.

Diplomatic tensions between the two nations have prevented the neighbours from playing a bilateral series since 2007, apart from Pakistan's tour to India in 2012-2013 when they played a short limited-overs series.

The tournament will feature eight teams, with four - Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - qualifying automatically. It will now be held in November.